Growing up in the Detroit area did not lend itself to a
great understanding of farming or gardening. Living in Switzerland with a family who owns a small
vineyard and tends a garden has opened my eyes to how these things are managed,
especially the preparation and care of fruit trees and vines.
Vineyards are very orderly, planted in rows. There is a base to the plant which
shows its age by its size, and the remaining few branches which were not part
of the aggressive pruning process in the fall are strung along a line in
anticipation of the new season of growth.
All the old, dead branches are piled up to be burned.
Knowing this firsthand gives me a new appreciation for the
verses in John 15 that talk about Jesus being the vine and his followers the
branches, and it’s made me actively reflect on my own life: Have I produced any
fruit? Am I actually living and
following Jesus, or am I a dying, disconnected branch?
These questions lead to a logical but intense outcome: If I
live my own way, don’t do what he asks, then I end up getting lopped off and
thrown into the fire. What exactly
is the fire? I’m not really sure,
and I think people who have studied the Bible disagree about the meaning. But it’s obviously not a good thing to
be cut off from the source of life, so I’m thankful that even though I get pruned
sometimes, I am carefully watched over and tended, very much like real-life
vineyards.
Spring is starting here in Neuchatel. The flowers are blooming, and the birds
have come back to sing their songs.
There are promises of new beginnings all around me.
My personal spring was in January. I packed my bags, got on a plane, and made my way to
Switzerland. I didn’t know how
long I’d be there or who I’d be staying with, but I was excited. The unknown can sometimes be unnerving,
but I hoped for good things.
When I
arrived, my host mom and one of the ladies from my new church met me at the
train station and brought me to my temporary home, Le Landeron, a small country
village in western Switzerland situated between a small river and the hills
leading up to the Jura Mountains. I
met my host family, Robert and Christine, was given my own space, and then the
intensive French lessons began.
I take the train each day into Neuchatel for my classes,
held from 9 am-12:15 pm. There we
are immersed in grammar and vocabulary, and then I usually return home for
lunch (and a conversation in French), walking the dog near the lake (and a
conversation in French), homework (in French), catching up on e-mails (which
are usually in English), dinner (more French), the news (in French), and then bed
(I’m still dreaming in English).
I’ve learned a lot of French.
Most of that has come from the everyday struggle of trying
to communicate and be understood.
I have the chance to practice everywhere I go, and going places is a
good thing: It forces me to practice.
Outside of class I’ve had the chance to
see and experience Switzerland. I checked
out one of the Swiss chocolate factories and saw the region where Gruyere
cheese comes from. I’ve met several
of the people I’ll be working with in Nyankunde, and I was able to share with
the children at church my story of why I’ve chosen to go to Africa. I even had the interesting opportunity
to take one of my classmates skiing.
All in all, language learning is intense, but it’s been nice
to have a regular schedule, to meet new people, to explore the world around me,
and to rest a little while after so many years of pursuing my education and
training. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed
my time here, but it’s almost time to move on, and I’m looking forward to the
next leg of my journey.
I’ve just received my passport from the embassy in Berne with
my visa for the DRC. The
organization I work for (Samaritan’s Purse) has purchased my one-way ticket to
Uganda, and from there I will fly to the DRC. I leave Switzerland May 18th and, hopefully, I
will arrive in DRC May 20th (the due date of one of the docs
there). I’m still not sure when
I’ll come back to the US, but it will be to take my board exams.
I’m thankful to all of you who have been praying for me, who
have written me, and who have supported me through this whole process. Please continue to pray for me. I have been blessed with a great
understanding of the French language, but it’s still a struggle to effectively
communicate, and this will increase exponentially when I have to work and teach
with a vocabulary I haven’t yet mastered.
And pray for me as I move once again and reestablish. Pray that my cultural and linguistic
mishaps won’t cause any lasting damage.
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